The present invention relates to the flanging of the ends of fiberboard cans, and more specifically to flanging the ends by mounting the cans to be flanged upon rotatably mounted flange heads which act like a chuck to grip the can and to move the can against a stationary compression rail which presses the ends of the cans against the flange heads to compress the ends.
The inventor is aware of patents describing machines of the prior art which are generally related to the area of flanging can ends. These patent references include Escallon et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,103 which discloses an apparatus for flanging an end of a can wherein the can is rotated between an inner and outer mandrel, and the inner and outer mandrels are moved progressively radially outward and inward, the can being formed by the compression between the two mandrels. The apparatus takes between two to ten revolutions to flange the end of a metal can. Morrell U.S. Pat. No. 2,367,419 discloses a fiberboard can with an annular slot at each end to secure a metal collar therein, the collar providing means to secure top and bottom closures. Morrell does not disclose or suggest any flanging of the fiberboard can. Vanderslice U.S. Pat. No. 1,606,677 discloses an apparatus for flanging heavy metal heads for boilers and the like. The flanging is achieved by placing the end between a pair of nip rollers and rotating the piece between them, the flange being formed by compression between the nip rollers. Abner U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,912 discloses merely a composite can having flanged ends for securing metal ends thereto by means of conventional crimping or the like. The flange is shown as being J shaped for maximum strength and use with a conventional can opener. Schuchard U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,665 discloses a simple fixture for straightening an already formed flange which may have been damaged by handling or the like. It includes a roller for rolling along the flange as a die member is rotated to rotate the can beneath the roller and the die. Marcovitch U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,259 discloses a machine and method for the profiling of forge castings or the like under heavy pressure and with roller forming means. Carpenter U.S. Pat. No. 2,892,749 discloses a method and apparatus for forming a flange on fiberboard shells by squeezing the shell between two dies, the internal die being expanded and contracted against the outer die to compress the shell into the desired shape. Rychiger U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,468 discloses an apparatus for sealing containers by collapsing a mating rim flange between the two container halves with a pair of dies, the dies being brought together to collapse the rims in a pre-determined manner. Van Alsburg U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,147 discloses an apparatus for creating a chime-like bead in a can sealed at one end by inserting a mandrel into the can and holding it in place with a back-up rail, the mandrel being rotatably mounted and having ribs and a ring of the desired shape of the can sidewall, and then rolling the can between the mandrel and a fixed beading rail, the fixed beading rail having recesses to match the shape of the mandrel and thereby form the chime-like bead between the mandrel and the beading rail.
Of the devices described in these prior art patents, none of them disclose or suggest a method or apparatus for flanging both ends of a can at the same time. Nor do they disclose or suggest an apparatus which has a pair of opposing freely rotatable flange heads with each flange head having a rim to fit within the interior of the can and near the sidewall so that the flange heads capture the can therebetween with the rim also being the surface against which the sidewall is compressed to form the flange. Still another feature not found in the prior art is a means for sequentially feeding cans into and removing cans from the flange heads to ensure a continuous and smooth flanging process. Still other features of the present invention are neither disclosed nor suggested by this prior art, as more fully explained, infra.
The present invention has features not suggested or taught by the prior art. The flanging machine of the invention in a preferred embodiment comprises a plurality of upper and lower flange heads for gripping fiberboard cans, the flange heads being attached to rods mounted for vertical sliding movement on respective discs. The upper and lower flange heads are equidistantly spaced about their supporting discs, and are aligned with each other in pairs. The discs are affixed to a spindle which rotatably drives the disc and flange heads. Means is provided to move the lower flange heads up and down, comprising in the preferred embodiment a cam ring having a groove which is located about the spindle, with the bottom of the flange head mount rods having a cam follower fitted within the groove so that as the spindle rotates the cam follower moves the lower flange head up or down to carry out the necessary steps for operation.
In a preferred embodiment, the upper flange head rods slide in tubes mounted to the disc, with means to limit the vertical movement of the upper flange head such as a stop pin mounted to the support rod and bearing against the ends of a notch in the tube.
The upper flange heads each have biasing means, such as a spring, mounted against the rod and the support tube, to bias the flange head in an up position, with means for receiving a depressing force against the rod such as a cam follower mounted atop the rod. A separate cam plate is mounted above the said cam follower at a certain location relative to the spindle, so that when the cam follower engages the cam plate, the cam follower and the upper flange head to which it is connected are moved downward.
Both the upper and lower flange heads are rotatably mounted to their supporting discs to spin about a vertical axis, and in a preferred embodiment the flange heads spin relative to their support rods such as by a roller bearing. The support discs for the flange heads can be adjusted to be attached at different positions on the spindle to accommodate different size cans.
Located to the outside of the flange heads are horizontal compression rails which in the preferred embodiment are of arcuate shape and are adjustably mounted, as by adjustment screws, for change in horizontal position within slots of tracks. The compression rails are spaced from one another so that the lower rail is aligned to contact the lower edge of a fiberboard can placed on a lower flange head, while the upper rail is aligned to engage the upper edge of a fiberboard can mounted to the top flange head. The flange heads in a preferred embodiment have a curvedly tapered outer rim surface which fit against the inside ends of the cans so that the compression rail which in a preferred embodiment is rounded, presses the can ends against the tapered portion of the flange heads to form compressed flange ends.
The tracks and compression rails are adjustably mounted so that they can be vertically moved to different levels to fit cans of different sizes.
The invention further comprises an engagement bar which in the preferred embodiment is of arcuate shape and has a resilient inner surface which acts to engage one side of a can as it is rotated about the spindle, while the other side of the can is held against a pocket of a turret mounted about the spindle to prevent the can from falling off the lower flange head when the upper flange head is removed from contact with a can, and to also hold the can at the same position when the lower flange head is moved out of engagement with the can when the can is moved about the spindle towards a discharge turret.
An inlet turret and a discharge turret act with a conveyor so that a can coming in on the conveyor is contacted by a cog in the inlet turret to fit within a recess thereof and be supported by a lower turret plate and move along a guide rail extending across the conveyor so that the can is moved towards a lower and upper flange head. As the can is so positioned the lower flange head is moved upwardly by camming action to seat against the lower end of the can and to move the can so that its upper end engages the upper flange head.
After the two flange heads grip the ends of the can in a chuck-like grip, the can is moved to gradually come into contact with the compression rail and when full compression of the rail upon the can ends against the flange heads begins, both flange heads spin or rotate about their mounts and continue to do so until a 360.degree. rotation of the can is made. At this point movement against the compression rail is terminated and the flange heads continue to move the cam with both flange heads then being moved in a downward direction such as by camming action upon both flanges, and then the upper flange head is suddenly snapped upwardly away from the can, such as by release of the cam follower with the upper cam and exertion of upward spring bias, to disengage the upper flange head from the can. The can continues to be moved, with the turret pocket and engagement bar surface contacting opposite sides of the can to keep it from wobbling off the lower flange. Movement of the can towards a discharge turret continues and, as the can approaches the turret, the lower flange head is moved slightly downwardly by the lower cam action while the turret pocket and engagement surface hold the can at the same level, so that the bottom of the can is moved underneath a support plate on the outlet turret and the can moves into a turret recess. The turret moves the can towards the conveyor belt where the can is further guided by the conveyor outlet guide rail onto the belt to be sent to another location.
The flange formed by the machine of the invention can then be further shaped to bend back upon itself to form a J configuration which can overlap against the end of a fiberboard can, which can be of metal.
By having the flanging process take place at both ends simultaneously, steps are saved in the flanging process, and it is unnecessary to dismount a can after one end is flanged and remount it to flange the other end. The spinning chucks allow for ease in the flanging operation and because their rotation is brought about by the frictional engagement of the compression rails against the can ends and against the tapered portion of the flange heads, the rotation of the flange heads and the movement of the can ends against the compression rail is at a rate which prevents tearing or mutilation of the can ends.
The horizontal and vertical adjustability of the compression rails, and of the flange head support discs heights, allows ease of changing settings for different can sizes.
When a selection of a setting for the various components is made, the invention allows a plurality of cans of the same size to be continually fed into the machine and flanged at both ends then discharged so that a quick, continuous, and efficient flanging operation takes place.